Beauty and the Cursed
by MissusManic
Summary: Kanda Yuu is the beautiful son of Tiedoll, and after a journey across the land, Tiedoll goes home to greet Kanda with a gift he never wanted and still doesn't want: the promise of friendship with a mysterious stranger. Based off of Beauty and The Beast. Arekan/Yullen
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

This story begins with a clown that became king.

Nothing more than a simply circus entertainer, the rise of Mana Walker as king of the land was surprising to many. A joke, they had said. A sick joke made by the nobility. But those words were swallowed back deep into their throats when they realized how the clown had turned out to be their ideal king. A calm, lighthearted ruler always motioning the kingdom to move forward.

His son, a boy he adopted from the very circus he originated from, was a different story.

In his own right he could be known as nothing more than a brat. Foul-mouthed, temperamental, and an overall pain in his governess's sides, Allen Walker was considered an ungrateful child worthy of being thrown back on the streets. Derogatory talk continued as rumors of the child having a deformity passed people's ears.

Despite this, the king considered Allen his son, whether the boy saw Mana as his father or not.

Then tragedy struck, and the so beloved king was lost. With Allen too young to take over the throne, power struggle broke out. Civil wars were fought. In just a few years the kingdom collapsed from under itself.

The inhabitants of the kingdom left, and, in their wake, Allen Walker was left behind with nothing but the castle and his own grief.

Then he came to him.

The warlock who called himself nothing but The Millennium Earl.

The Earl spoke sweet words, promising to bring the boy's precious Mana back to him.

In his despair, Allen accepted the Earl's offer, only to be treated with the cold and dark truth of the warlock.

A trick he regrets falling into, a curse that will last him a lifetime, and an underlying secret ready to show itself. Allen Walker resides in the castle to this day with a simple phrase in mind:

"Keep moving forward."

* * *

A/N:_ This is only loosely based off Beauty and the Beast. There will similarities between this and that, but the differences will be just as great. For example, there will be no curse-breaking here I'm afraid._


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

There came a point in his life when Froi Tiedoll decided it was time to resign from his position as a general. While a position of great honor, generals were known for their strength in leading their troops out to war, something Tiedoll found was not befitting to his nature. He was much less a fighter as he was a teacher: that much many people could agree on. So when Tiedoll decided to step down from his role as a general at the age of 41, the information was accepted by his troops. He gave his farewells with tears in his eyes and left to focus on his art and raising his three sons.

The former general's sons were not his own, for Tiedoll had never married. All three were boys he had came upon when he was still in the military: two without homes to go back to and one who went with Tiedoll on his own accord. All the same, he cared for them as if they were his children.

Noise Marie was the oldest of the three boys: a dark-skinned man of 29 with a large stature, towering over his two brothers. Years ago, some time before Tiedoll discovered him, Marie had been a solider blinded in a battle that took place in a neighboring land and proceeded to be one of the only survivors of that company. Despite his blindness, Marie had an impeccable sense of hearing, a sense only heightened by the aids given to him by Tiedoll.

Tiedoll was incredibly thankful for him, especially because of Marie's calm demeanor that allowed him to be the family's own voice of reason.

Daisya Barry was a young boy when Tiedoll met him. Full of energy and dis-satisfied with his life in his little port-town, Daisya saw Tiedoll as the key to getting somewhere beyond his boring, little life of playing soccer and taking care of his siblings. While Tiedoll may not be a general anymore, Daisya still saw him as a ticket to adventure, and for now he spends his time playing soccer outside and messing with his new brothers.

The last of Tiedoll's children was Kanda Yuu, a young Eastern* man known as much for his beauty as he was known for pulling out his handy sword, Mugen. Out of all his sons, Tiedoll found Kanda to be the most difficult. Not much was known about Kanda, but from what the former general had heard from Marie, who had traveled with Kanda before meeting Tiedoll, Kanda had been present during a horrible massacre years ago. Tiedoll remembered hearing about it himself: the tragedy where an entire building of military workers were killed, the suspect having yet to be found. Kanda refused to talk about details, and instead he wrapped himself a hardened shell that left little care for people.

Just that morning, Kanda had given no thought to Tiedoll as the former general had called for a quick meeting between his sons. He simply took up one of the mats from the corner of the room and headed out to the backyard, most likely for his habitual early meditation.

"Well, two is better than none I suppose," Tiedoll sighs, taking a seat across from Marie and Daisya.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, No. Not at all, Marie. I just wanted to know what gifts you wanted before I head out."

"Huh?" Daisya leans forward, as if he needed to get closer to hear correctly. "You're going on another trip? You just got back from one a few weeks ago!"

"Oh? I didn't tell you?" The smile on his face his calm, and it's enough to make Daisya sit back in his seat at the reply. "Don't worry. I'm just going up north. It'll be a few days at most. Now about those gifts..."

Daisya is the first to shoot up, but he he says nothings and runs off into the next room. Tiedoll, instead, turns his gaze toward Marie. "How about you?"

Marie seems to give it some thought before shaking his head at the offer. "I don't need anything."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes-"

"You know, Miss Miranda's birthday is coming up," Tiedoll says, smiling as Marie visibly stiffens. "And I've noticed that the chain she uses for her clock key is getting a little dull. How does a new one sound?" By then, Marie had turned a shade of red that gave everything away. He nods, agreeing to the suggestion Tiedoll had given him.

It was at that moment that Daisya had appeared, carrying something small in between his palms. "Here," he says, shoving the object into Tiedoll's hand. He looks down to see a small bell. The same bell that Daisya had taken from his little port-side town when he left to live with Tiedoll. "It's not making a sound."

Tiedoll gently shook the bell by his ear and, as was said, no sound. "Why not get Johnny to fix it? He lives right down the road, after all."

"No way! Johnny's nice and all, but I have a cousin who repairs things up north. I want it fixed by him."

"I understand, " is all Tiedoll says as he places the bell inside his bag.

Now it would be the hard part. Marie and Kanda never were the ones to ask for gifts. The difference was that Marie would at least accept the gift if Tiedoll came back with one. Kanda, on the other hand, blatantly rejected the gifts. It was always greeted with a frank, "Don't want it," and then never touched.

The family's backyard was a modest space, not too large and not too cramped. The entirety was covered in a lush grass, waving in the wind a way that showed it may need to be cut soon. At the very front, near the back entrance to the house, was a small table with chairs, usually unused unless it was a nice day and there were visitors. Away near the back of the gate was a tall oak, leaves green and full of life in the spring season. Not far from the spot, a pond sat in the very middle of the yard. It was a clear blue, with small flowers floating on the surface and koi fish swimming beneath them. Between the oak and the pond was Kanda, who sat with his mat in place and his facial expression calm (a rare sight).

Tiedoll knelt beside Kanda and admired the lack of a scowl on the his face. Kanda had such beautiful features that were worthy of praise, but his personality was so rough and hard to approach. It was such a shame.

"Yuu." Immediately Kanda's eyes snapped open, and he turned to glare at whoever disturbed his time of peace and quiet.

"_Don't call me that."_

The former general sits there, unfazed by the threatening tone held in Kanda's voice. "Do you want me to bring you back anything before I head out?"

Kanda huffs, annoyed that he was brought out of his meditation for something like this. He replies with a, "No," and closes his eyes, trying to clear his thoughts and reach the calm state he had before the interruption.

"No? Are you sure you want nothing?"

"Nothing."

There's a moment of silence, and Kanda believes he can now have peaceful atmosphere the he needs.

"There must be something you want."

"_No. _There is absolutely _nothing _that I want."

Tiedoll releases a deep breath as he tries to think of something he might offer Kanda. He would bring soba. The young swordsman would like that, but by the time Tiedoll came home, Kanda wouldn't even bother to eat it. Not if it wasn't fresh.

He looks out to the pond, watching the koi swim under flowers Tiedoll had placed there himself for a painting. The pond was, really, a man-made item for the garden, inspired by a small pond Tiedoll had seen years ago. He was entrapped by the calm setting and stunning clearness the water had. The pond there, in the backyard, was almost identical. The only differences were the presence of the koi fish and the lack of the lotus flowers he had seen before.

Now that he thought about it, Tiedoll remembered Kanda being completely enamored by the painting of the pond he had brought back, but being completely unimpressed by the replica Tiedoll had built.

"The surface of the pond looks barren."

Kanda groans and leans forward, giving up the idea of having a decent meditation for the rest of the morning.

"I think I should bring back a lotus flower. What do you think?"

It was then that Kanda visibly perked up, looking out at the pond where Tiedoll's own eyes were. He slouches down, resting his head in his hand and refusing to meet the knowing eyes of his mentor.

"Do what you want."

* * *

_A/N: *The kingdoms and lands mentions are intentionally vague. This includes the term Eastern I'm using to describe Kanda. Just think of it as similar to the Eastern hemisphere/Asia. Eastern = Asian._

_Originally this was going to be longer, and it was going to include Allen. By the time I got to the last quote, I decided against it. Allen will have to wait till next chapter._

_Any and all feedback greatly appreciated._


End file.
